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Statement on court order to deny motion for preliminary injunction in Collins v. Daniel

The Laura and John Arnold Foundation today issued the following statement on the court order to deny a motion for preliminary injunction in Collins v. Daniel:

We wholeheartedly agree with the U.S. District Court’s order, which concludes that plaintiffs are not likely to succeed on the merits of their claims, and which allows Bernalillo County, New Mexico, to continue using the Public Safety Assessment (PSA) when making pretrial release and detention decisions. A well-conducted, properly implemented pretrial risk assessment tool such as the PSA can assist judges in making these critical decisions — and it can do so far more effectively than a system in which judges are left to rely simply on a bail schedule and their own gut instinct. Our communities aren’t safe and we don’t advance justice when people who can afford it buy their way out of jail, even if they’re dangerous, and people who don’t have money remain locked up, even if they pose little risk to the community. New Mexico’s recent reforms are an important step toward justice, equity, and improved public safety. We cannot allow the for-profit bail bonds industry to derail these critical efforts for the sake of its own financial interests.